Sonic Genesis
by Thoughtful Tikal
Summary: This Dexter person changed Sonic's entire day just with his appearance. His actual appearance? Or was it only coincidence? Dexter wasn't supposed to be real. He'd been a figment of Amy's imagination, nothing more.
1. Chapter 1

**(Author's Note: For those of you who read "Do You Trust Me? Will You Follow Me?" This story is a major remake. The drama is sorta the same, but there's a whole new plot and extra concepts thrown into it. Enjoy!) **

"So yeah, that's what happened. Eggman didn't learn his lesson after enslaving demons and extracting this world's life force. The guy doesn't know when to quit."

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What? I pretty much gave you the whole story. Just another day with another predictable scheme."

"You forgot what we were supposed to do today! We had our date!"

"Oh..." Sonic started rubbing his head nervously. He'd forgotten all about this activity.

_Can't the girl cut me some slack? _

"You're always somewhere dealing with Eggman! If it's not the afternoon, then it's in the evening! When will I get _my_ turn to be with you?"

"Ames, c'mon. This hero gig doesn't have scheduled hours. I can't control when Egghead wants to cause a ruckus."

"Well, _Knuckles_ has found time, and he spends all his days guarding the Master Emerald."

"That's news to me. I didn't think he would be with you when Tails and I were up on that Lost Hex planet. Guess he's found a way to manage his time more now that Eggman doesn't go for the Emerald anymore."

"Which is what you should be trying to do! You promised me a date three times this month, and never took me out on any of them. I know _Dexter_ wouldn't do that to me."

"Ah, the mystery Dexter dude," Sonic replied sarcastically, "He and I still never met. I don't think he would be thrilled to know you're asking someone else out on a date."

"Dexter wasn't real, okay? I just made him up in order to make you jealous," Amy admitted through a convicted tone.

"And so the cat's finally out of the bag. Well, I would've liked to have finally met the guy."

"Oh, quit it with the sarcasm already, Sonic! If Dexter were a real person, he would treat me a whole lot better than you do!"

"Yeah? Well, he has my blessings."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It simply means I hope the guy's able to do that for you."

Amy became stunned by this remark and couldn't seem to move her lips or find any words. Surely, her blue hero wasn't serious when he'd said it... "You really mean that?"

"Yeah," Sonic grew uneasy as he noticed Amy's reaction, "No one wants a _jerk_ for a boyfriend."

_Maybe I'm one of those who do..._

...

...

"Hey. I've got free time. Let's go on this date while there's still time."

"No thanks." Amy showed a smile that was glossed with obvious sadness.

_What?_

"You sure?"

"Yeah!" Now her expression became just cheerful. "I just remembered I have to go do something very important that I can't put off for any longer."

"Well okay... later!" Sonic watched Amy turn around and start dashing down the street, hearing those go-go boots of hers click against the concrete each time she stepped.

What was going on here?

* * *

><p>Later on in the day, when the moon was out with clusters of blue twinkling stars scattered around it, Rouge took a visit to Angel Island and approached Knuckles on top of the Master Emerald Altar.<p>

"Do you ever wonder how long you'll be here?" Rouge asked the echidna.

"No, I don't know. I'll guard this Emerald for as long as I have to, and make sure not to let dirty thieves like you get hands on it."

"Oh, Knuckie, do we really need to have this discussion every time I come visit? I could snatch your precious Emerald with both my hands tied behind my back."

"Riiiiiight." Knuckles didn't believe any of these words for a second. Rouge was his rival and so these two were always facing each other when it came to jewels or other special treasures. "Why'd you come here anyways, Bat Girl?"

"Here's your answer. I found this!"

Rouge handed Knuckles a newspaper she'd apparently found and watched him read its headlines with curiousity.

"What's this about? A GUN Soldier's life saved by a mysterious armadillo named Dexter in one of the battles during the Black Arms Invasion. GUN has made this hero second in command to the Commander. Dexter the Armadillo was given this position as a reminder of his sacrificial deed and respect from the community... who is this Dexter guy?"

"That's what I would like to know. He's been in the organization for not even a month, and the President is already considering more recruits like him."

It'd been one thing to recognize Rouge, Shadow, and Omega for their spy skills, but introducing more Mobians into GUN sounded strange. There weren't many that Knuckles knew who were worthy of being GUN members, so just who else was the President thinking of?

"You mean having more of those like us fight for GUN? What's the President thinking?"

Not expecting the blue hedgehog to show up either, Rouge turned around and saw Sonic come power-walking towards them up Knuckles's stairs. She looked to Knuckles and gave a reaction that told him to hide that newspaper from out of Sonic's sight.

He did and also greeted Sonic when the speedster was finally in front of them. "Hey, what's with that face? Normally, you're wearing a grin or cracking some joke."

"Yeah," Rouge also stepped over to Sonic, "What's got the World's Fastest Hedgehog slowed down?" This bat and Knuckles listened to Sonic explain the deals with missing Amy's date and her fictional boyfriend, Dexter.

"Dexter? Why would she trick you into believing something like that?" Knuckles asked.

"It sounds to me like she wanted to make Sonic here jealous. That girl's going crazy," Rouge gave this comment.

"More like insane. So, what's new? Everytime Amy gets mad like this, something with Eggman happens, and after it's over she forgives you and everything's back to normal," Knuckles said to Sonic thoroughly.

"Maybe you could fix the situation by copying her."

"What do you mean?" Sonic queried Rouge.

"What I'm saying is, you create yourself a fake girlfriend."

"You've officially lost it," Knuckles said plainly.

"Hmmm! I'm not being ridiculous! If Sonic wants her, then what better thing to use than jealousy?"

"Woah woah woah! Rewind! I never said I wanted to be her boyfriend."

"So you say... you're not fooling anyone. We've all seen the way you two stare at each other when the moment's there. You just want to make her yours."

"No way! You're dead wrong!"

"Bat Girl, leave the guy alone. He's not interested."

"Fine. Don't say I didn't try to help you... As for you, I'll come back for my Emerald another day."

"Sure, whatever you say." Knuckles watched Rouge turn on her heels and spread her wings to ascend to the night skies above. After that the echidna looked back to a mildly distressed Sonic and was shocked to see how he looked. "After everything you've survived, you're going to let a girl get you down? Give me a break!"

Sonic began considering these words as he stared down at the concrete below him. Then he lifted his head up and had a more encouraged toothy grin on his face.

There was no reason to worry over Amy. This type of argument had happened between them countless times before. What Knuckles said would occur and Amy would be back chasing after Sonic with that same girlish adoration.

"You're right, Knux. Sorry for the sour attitude," Sonic gave a thumbs up, "I came up here to ask you something about a new guy I ran into earlier."

"Oh?"

"After Tails and I left Lost Hex, I was on my way to Station Square when some armadillo shows up next to me and heads in the same direction. Wherever he needed to go, it had to be very important with how fast he was running. Our speeds were evenly matched!"

"I don't know any armadillo like that. Where exactly do you think he went?"

"Maybe to a different part of Station Square. I wanted to go and stay on his tail but Eggman showed up and threw me off course."

"Maybe you'll bump into him again when you head to Station Square."

"Maybe..." Sonic made a sigh and shifted his eyes to jungle bushes and trees in the far distance. "Y'know, earlier Tails showed me a news article that mentioned an armadillo. His name's Dexter, just like the boyfriend Amy thought up. Isn't that funny?"

"Yeah, hilarious..." Knuckles's fingers tightened around the newspaper behind his back as he started feeling uneasy about this topic. He would keep his mouth shut. "Hey. Maybe it'd be a good time to call it a night. I'll be resting soon so I won't have anymore time to talk."

"Alright. G'night, Knuckle Head."

Immediately, a vein popped up on Knuckles's head. Why did Sonic like calling him that?

* * *

><p>Tails was in his garage the next morning, tinkering on his ship he'd ridden to take him and Sonic up to space during the Shadow the Hedgehog saga. The young inventor found an issue with one of its fuel boosters and needed to replace it immediately. When he heard Sonic come in he gave the hedgehog this bad news.<p>

"What? Well, don't sweat it, Tails. We could always go to outer space another day. I know you'll be able to figure out what's wrong with that booster sooner or later."

"I planned our expedition to outer space to be for two weeks tops. Ever since we stopped Doctor Eggman and the Deadly Six, there hasn't been much going on lately. What'll we do until I fix my ship's fuel boosters?"

"I dunno. There's a lot we can do. We just gotta look around and see what there is."

"Did you ever go to Station Square and make up with Amy?"

Sonic's heart almost skipped a beat when his best friend pinned this question on him. "No... have you talked to her today?"

"Yeah. She invited me and Cream to go with her to Twinkle Park this afternoon at 3 PM."

"Really? Why didn't she invite me?"

"That's the same I was wondering..." Tails looked at Sonic and saw how worried he'd became about this situation. It wasn't at all like Amy to leave Sonic out of anything because he was her everything. "Maybe you should go and find out why she didn't invite you. Uh oh... Sonic, I just remembered something. There's a perk to Twinkle Park."

"Perk?" Sonic cracked an arrogant grin. He'd been to this galactic amusement park dozens of times before, so what was the rule from it that he wouldn't be able to follow? It was like any other place he'd went to during his staged adventures, but once he heard what Tails said, that positive attitude disappeared. "What? I've never heard of that! I go there all the time and the employees never bring it up!"

"Well _that's_ what Amy told me. I asked Cream to come with me. We don't have jobs so there wouldn't be any way to pay for tickets."

"What's Amy thinking? I don't have anyone to take with me, let alone cash!" It was at this second that Sonic started thinking of girls who he could possibly ask to go with him to Twinkle Park. After thinking up so many names, he heard Tails suggest to him one that seemed the most unusual.

"Maybe you could ask Rouge to be your date."

"Rouge?" Sonic's mind went to this seductive bat. She was an eligible candidate, but... not really the wisest choice. "You think I should ask her to go with me to Twinkle Park?"

"Well, I mean, she's the only girl we know who lives in this area. Blaze lives in an alternate dimension, and Wave is most likely somewhere with Jet and Storm looking for treasure." Tails heard the way this idea affected Sonic and started wishing that he hadn't ever mentioned Rouge. "I'm sorry, Sonic. Maybe we should forget about this Twinkle Park idea and tell Amy we have other plans."

"And not find out what she's up to? Not a chance!" Sonic regained his positive attitude and wagged a finger at Tails. "I'll find a way to play Ames at her own game. Just wait and see!"

With this said, Sonic sped out of the room and left Tails a bit more comforted to know that he wasn't going to back down from something that was honestly bothering him. So Tails set his tools down and followed Sonic out the door.

* * *

><p>Besides hunting for treasure, Rouge the Bat was also a government spy and CIA agent for GUN, Guardian Units of Nation. Walking out of their boss's office with her was her one and only close friend, Shadow the Hedgehog, who also worked for GUN undercover. As this hedgehog's air skates clicked against the gray tiled floor, he watched Rouge greet and speak to other GUN operatives as they were on their way out the door and back out into the pleasant afternoon sunlight. Shadow didn't care much for socializing and everyone respected that.<p>

"Shadow, you could at least wave at people who walk past us and pretend you care," Rouge said to her partner. "Sometimes I wonder what it was that made you join GUN."

"You know why." Shadow didn't feel like repeating the details of how he became a member of GUN. The only important thing was that if he didn't, a neutral peace agreement wouldn't be formed between him and GUN, and they wouldn't promise to not enter the ARK anymore.

After the events of the ARK Cannon and Biolizard, Shadow successfully let go of his past and now lived among those in this world that Maria cared for so much. She wouldn't want him keeping hate for the humans when so much time had passed by since her tragic death.

Shadow ceased his footsteps and was thrown out of his thoughts as he could look some feet before him and see... "That blue hedgehog, of all places..."

"Well isn't this a surprise!" Rather than be suspicious like Shadow, Rouge walked up to Sonic as he stood out from all the humans like the blue Chaos Emerald.

"Hey, Shadow and Rouge!" Sonic greeted his friends. Apparently, he'd come here to GUN to invite Rouge to an amusement park that sat across from Emerald Coast Hotel near the beautiful blue sea, not so much as inviting Shadow to tag along. What was this?

"You want to take _me_ to Twinkle Park?" Rouge asked then put on a playful smile, "I didn't know I was your type."

"No, i-it's not like that."

Before Sonic could finish his explanation, he saw Shadow started interrogating him. "What's all this business about Twinkle Park and dates? What are you up to, Sonic?"

"This was Amy's idea. I'm gonna find out what it is."

"What did you mean before when you said it's not like that?" Rouge asked Sonic. The bat then got the answer she wanted. "Ohh, I see. Well, I say we go just to see how this all turns out. I'll be Sonic's date."

"Where does that leave me?"

Both Rouge and Sonic turned to Shadow as the Ultimate Life Form said this. They hadn't expected him to want to be apart of this social activity, or any for that matter.

"You want to go to Twinkle Park, Shadow?" Rouge asked, "You need a date to get in for free."

"Says who?"

"Says the employees and the manager of Twinkle Park. When I heard the rule, I couldn't believe it either, but, that's the way it goes," Sonic said sympathetically.

"All the girls _we _know wouldn't be able to come and be Shadow's date," Rouge confirmed a second time, motioning to look over at Shadow. "Where does that leave you, Shadow?"

"Hmph!" Shadow could only grow frustrated and fold his arms. Why did Amy decide to go to Twinkle Park in the first place? "I guess I won't be going to this park then."

"You have to go! Just because you can't find a measly date doesn't give you the right to back down. There's got to be someone you can bring with you."

"I could easily pay my way into this park, and so could _you_. So that was your plan, huh? Or is it a way to make me jealous?"

"Is that what you think I'm trying to do? Why spend money when I can get into this park for free, and I'll be going with someone I know? I would say you've been envious already."

"Ha! Me, jealous of this Faker? You must be joking."

"Hmmm! Well, I wish you could find a date, but since I've found mine, I think it's time to leave and see what's going on at Twinkle Park."

"You are one selfish woman!"

"The same woman you've worked with for the past year."

Before Shadow could respond, a beeping noise from his walkie-talkie came and he answered the call to learn that he was needed back in the Commander's office for a special meeting. After hearing all the details and ending the call, he said one last thing to Rouge before taking off. "If you want to keep our friendship, don't accuse me of being jealous. That's where I draw the line."

"Do you actually think I want to ruin our friendship? You and I have been through a lot, you know."

"We have."

"Then don't worry. I'm a big girl, I can watch myself." Rouge turned her eyes back to Sonic's and said conclusively, "I'm ready to go when you are."

"All right! Later, Shadow."

"Later."

Shadow turned on his heel after saying bye and started down the hallway he and Rouge just came from.

* * *

><p>"Weeeeee!" In a cute light-orange car, Cream sped her way along the spiral then continued along the race track until she was back at the finish line with Tails. It'd been so thoughtful of Amy to invite her and Tails to Twinkle Park where they could race and explore Twinkle Park's Pleasure Castle. Mister Sonic and the others would be happy if they were also here. "Tails? Are Sonic and Mister Knuckles also coming here?"<p>

"Yeah. Sonic should be here soon but I'm not sure about Knuckles." Tails became uneasy as he thought to how only couples could get in to Twinkle Park for free, but Knuckles wasn't interested to begin with. Besides, who would he bring with him?

Outside the Twinkle Park entrance, Amy was unconsciously tapping her foot as she waited for the rest of her friends to come here so they could all be in Twinkle Park together. How she acted impatient was possibly from being so influenced by Sonic. She could him folding his arms and tapping his foot whenever he was impatient. "It's almost 3 PM now! Where is he?" Before Amy could ponder on Sonic any longer, she looked up and noticed a familiar trio of detectives making their way towards her. "Huh? I didn't invite _you three_ here."

"We were down here for business reasons and we overheard Sonic and that broad, Rouge, talk about this place," answered the detective leader, Vector the Crocodile.

Amy lost so much of her temper at this point. "Sonic is bringing _Rouge_?" The pink hedgehog let out an angry growl and fire seemed to glow around her, frightening the_ Chaotix_ Detectives altogether.

"Uh... Amy, take a chill pill. He had to bring someone if he wanted to get in this park for free," said Charmy the Bee who was clutching on to Vector for dear life.

"He wasn't actually supposed to bring anyone, Charmy!" Amy sighed, "Oh, why should I even bother? None of you get what I'm trying to say."

"I understand your logic, Amy." Espio the Chameleon noticed Amy turn to him with astonishment, as if he wasn't capable of understanding her. "You want to make Sonic jealous by making him believe he needs you. Am I right?"

"Wow, Espio. You're an expert at readin' girls! Is that somethin' you've picked up while you're out meditatin' under that waterfall by our place?" Vector asked the magenta ninja.

"No," Espio blushed lightly, "That's something anyone can learn, Vector. Male or female. Amy, since we've heard about this special event of yours, Vector, Charmy and I will also go. We won't be needing the "Couples Get In Free" deal since we have cash."

Amy didn't have much to say as she heard Espio make these statements. She just wanted to see who Sonic had brought as his date. Nothing more.

"Hey! I think I see Sonic and... his date. Uhh..."

Curious as to why Charmy grew nervous now, his friends and Amy also looked to where he noticed Sonic.

Amy wouldn't stand for this. She watched the confident Sonic and Rouge make their way over to her like an actual couple.

"Hi, Pinky!" Rouge said hello to the peeved hedgehog as she approached her, "We aren't too late to this party of yours, are we?"

"I didn't know we had to bring dates," Sonic tried his best to sound excited about this whole ordeal, "But Rouge volunteered to come with me..."

Sonic couldn't finish his sentence as his eyes spotted something unsuspected... and familiar. That same armadillo!

"Hm." Vector's expression became serious. He looked over to Espio who also had that look when he looked at this armadillo character.

"Dexter!" Amy lost all of her anger in this precise moment, "You showed up sooner than I expected."

"Well, what can I say? I'm very punctual when it comes to time."

This Dexter person changed Sonic's entire day just with his appearance. His _actual_ appearance? Or was it only coincidence?

...

...

"Amy, these are all the friends you told me about?" Dexter asked Amy.

"Oh! Yes... this is my best friend Cream, my other friends, Tails, Rouge, Espio, Vector, Charmy, and Sonic..."

Amy placed her embarrassed eyes on Sonic's when she reached his name. Her plans of making the Blue Blur jealous weren't supposed to happen like this. Everything was going wrong!

"Sonic? I believe he and ran into each other once before. Outside Station Square, in the fields. My name is Dexter the Armadillo."

Dexter outstretched his hand for Sonic to shake it. For some time, the hedgehog just stared at his hand like it was going to speak next, then he eventually grabbed it and gave a respectful shake.

"Yeah, that was me you saw. Nice to see ya again."

"Likewise. So... all of us came here to go inside Twinkle Park. I'm ready to go inside when you are, Amy."

"Oh, okay." Amy started following Dexter past everyone towards the Twinke Park entrance, tempted to turn her head and look back at Sonic.

In her plan, Dexter was one step ahead. The armadillo wasn't supposed to show up yet; instead he was expected to arrive when everyone was inside Twinkle Park and Amy brought him up to Sonic in her usual fictional way.

Dexter wasn't supposed to be real. He'd been a figment of Amy's imagination, nothing more.

Once she and he went in through the entrance with Tails and Cream, Sonic and Rouge and Team Chaotix stayed behind to have a private discussion.

"Good idea ta' come down here, Espio. Now we have that guy right where we want 'im," Vector began knowingly.

"What do you mean by that?" Rouge asked Vector.

"That armadillo is highly suspicious. We received a client who asked us to track him down and figure out where he came from. The news reports from a few days ago say he was hired as a GUN Official, second in command to the leader of that organization, the Commander," Espio answered Rouge's question with facts.

"And you know, Espio... our client said that armadillo can do a lot of things like Sonic," said Charmy.

"A lot of things like _me_?"

"Yeah! He can run super fast, turn into balls and smash through everything, that dude even has the power to harness the Chaos Emeralds!"

"That's why we're also suspicious of him. There aren't many who have the ability to harness Chaos Energy like you, Shadow, and Knuckles. None of us has ever met this Dexter character since we all met," Espio added these spare details.

"I'm already starting to not like him..." Rouge admitted honestly, "So, you three did your homework, it seems. Meanwhile, the boyfriend Amy thought up became an actual person."

"What?" Vector was confused about every part of this sentence. "Amy has a boyfriend?"

"Woah... Sonic's not gonna be happy to hear that," added Charmy.

"Actually, Big Blue says it doesn't bother him," Rouge replied while looking over at Sonic.

"It doesn't? Amy chases you around 24/7."

"That doesn't mean I jealous. Amy brought up this Dexter guy to upset me, but in the end I got her to stop and she hadn't said anything else, ever since today."

"Perhaps Amy actually knew Dexter this whole time and used him to irritate you," Espio gave this possible idea.

"Why wait until now? Why not introduce him to Sonic sooner?" Charmy asked his chameleon comrade.

"None of it makes any sense. I say we go in and watch this guy. We'll see how he treats Amy and watch if she does anything ta' make Sonic jealous," Vector suggested wisely.

"Got it."

Espio started after Vector as the large crocodile began towards the Twinkle Park Entrance.

Charmy promptly went in afterwards, and so Sonic and Rouge were the last ones to go in.

_Just what are you plotting, Ames?_


	2. Chapter 2

"Yeah!"

Amy felt so much adrenaline as she and Dexter made their way across another ramp and flew through the starry Twinkle Park skies. Dexter was the driver behind the wheel and was a professional. _Sonic,_ on the other hand...

"Watch out!" Rouge grew frantic as Sonic and her were about to run into the back of Tails and Cream's kart. Their kart bumper would be so ruined if that accident came to life, then someone would have to pay Twinkle Park Management for the damages. "Sonic the Hedgehog, where did you get your driver's license?"

"Hey, cut me some slack here!" Sonic avoided the possible accident and swerved to the right of the track. "I don't use wheels! These race karts are snails compared to me."

"Well, it doesn't look like Amy's boyfriend is having any trouble. They're probably having so much fun with this."

Rouge would realize she was completely wrong about these statements if she saw the way Dexter and Amy were actually feeling.

Sonic didn't care if Dexter was a good driver. Big deal! Maybe that was one of the newest things he'd learn about that armadillo today.

When Amy looked over at him, she remembered a question she wanted to ask. "Dexter? Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Of course. Aren't you?"

"Oh, I am! I just wanted to make sure you were having a good time... thanks for accepting my invitation."

"No problem, Amy. I'm glad we could make plans to see each other. You're a great girl."

Now that everyone had participated in Twinkle Park's Kart Racing, now the friends would head to the next main attraction: Pleasure Castle.

Dexter slowed down the kart to a stop before the finish line and opened his door to get out. Instead of Amy opening her door herself, he walked over to it and did the task for her. Such a gentleman.

Cream made a sound of awe as she was so fascinated by the ivory marble walls around her. Red carpet trimmed with gold ran down the hallways. She could look some ways in front of her and see Charmy and the others also exploring this wonderful place.

As Espio kept inspecting every inch of the area, he heard Tails mention the roller coaster that spiraled around this castle and the clear blue pool that was just outside its back entrance. So he and his pals went to go see those things.

"Hey... weren't Sonic, Rouge, Amy, and Dexter all down here just a second ago?" Vector asked confusedly.

"Yeah, where did those four go?" Fluttering with his cute bee wings, Charmy searched for their missing friends. Pleasure Castle was a big part of Twinkle Park, so there was no telling where the hedgehogs, bat, and armadillo were. "Tails? You or Cream see where the others went?"

One who was nearby would hear Sonic growl and ram his fist into the side of the white-bricked wall in front of him. He and Rouge were alone, on Pleasure Castle's highest floor where they could look down and gaze at the pool if they wanted to.

He opened his fist and let his hand fall to his side. The hedgehog had never let himself get so _irritated_ like this...

Rouge didn't seem to have anything to say about this tempered behavior. It wasn't like it was his fault...

"I don't get any of this." Sonic finally turned away from the wall and stepped over to Rouge.

"Yeah? Well who can blame ya? I never would've thought Pinky would chase after someone else besides you. Hah... I hate to say it, I guess you're going to have to do some deeper investigating.

"I guess so," Sonic made a small grin, "Not because I'm interested in their relationship, but Espio told me that he, Charmy, and Vector have been asked to investigate this guy. He could be trouble."

"Finding this guy out won't be easy. I've got an idea. How about making a deal? When we first met Dexter, he made it clear that Amy's his girl. Now if you could let me steal Dexter for a bit, I may be able to help you. What do you think?"

"Well, explain more what you mean by stealing him for a bit."

"I can keep an eye on this guy with GUN's tracking equipment, and visit him face-to-face. I'll learn his side of this relationship and relay the information back to you via communicator."

"Sounds good! Thanks, Rouge!" Sonic made a thumbs up.

"So it's a deal? I don't think anyone will suspect this plan."

"Hope no one does."

For the short time that Amy knew Dexter, she felt that this date of theirs was going sweeter than expected. Her motives behind it began to fade away and be replaced by genuine quality togetherness.

She and him had also secluded themselves and were on Pleasure Castle's highest floor.

"It's peaceful up here. The roller-coaster and go-karts are fun, but sometimes just enjoying the silence is good too... is something wrong, Amy?"

_Dexter? Ha! Dexter is just a guy I imagined. I wanted to make you jealous. I don't need him now!_

_..._

_..._

"Amy?"

"Huh?"

Amy woke up from her trance and noticed Dexter looking into her eyes with a concerned frown.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah! Hey, look! I can see Cream and the others from up here. Let's go down and meet them."

"Okay."

Dexter followed Amy back towards the path that had a staircase for them to descend. This date was officially over since everyone got a chance to explore the inside of Pleasure Castle, so they would reunite in front of it and decide how to spend the rest of the day.

"Going inside Pleasure Castle was so nice, Amy! I felt like I was in a fairy-tale. What will we do next?" Cream asked excitedly.

"Well, Cream, I was actually wondering where Sonic and Rouge went. It's getting late and so we'll be leaving soon."

"Aww... maybe we could come here again another time. Could we, Amy?"

"Of course!" Amy smiled, "Anytime you're ready, Cream!"

Amy looked away from Cream to her left, then to her right. Her, Cream, Dexter, Tails, and the Chaotix Detectives were here, so why hadn't Sonic and Rouge came yet?

From out nowhere, the pink girl saw only Rouge approaching her. What was this?

"Wait... where'd Sonic go?" began Charmy.

"He was with Rouge. Now he's disappeared," Vector added this statement.

"Perhaps he had an errand to go take care of. Let's also go and take care of our business."

Espio could leave Twinkle Park on a sympathetic note, that Amy shouldn't let the things out of her reach make her stumble, meanwhile Sonic should learn to be more considerate and open to Amy's feelings. Perhaps then she wouldn't have gotten involved with this Dexter character and no one would be in the situations they were currently in.

"Alright! Besides, I forgot ta' pay the electric bill."

Vector never was a homeowner who remember all of his bills' due dates. Call him forgetful.

"I should probably get going myself. It was nice meeting you, Dexter," Tails said to the armadillo.

"Likewise, friend. Have a good evening."

Dexter waved farewells to Team Chaotix, Tails, and Cream, then turned back to Amy and Rouge. Things felt sort of awkward since Sonic wasn't around, but Dexter didn't mind it.

Amy, however, became uneasy and interrogated Rouge. "Where is he?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"Sonic, of course! You two were just together. Why did he leave?"

"I don't know."

"I don't believe you! You're hiding something from me!"

"No I'm not, you obnoxious little girl! What reason do I have to lie? If anyone's hiding anything, it's _you_!"

...

...

Rouge knew she made something in Amy's mind click. The girl's face became guilty and there was nothing she could say back.

"So I figured it out. You're in a love triangle."

"No I'm not! I would never do that to Sonic!"

"Hmmm! It looks like that's what you're already doing, but, since it's really none of my business, I think it's time for me to go."

"Well, fine! But if you do anything to Sonic, I'll make you sorry!"

Amy watched Rouge walk off, then suddenly felt awkward for even making this statement. The hedgehog looked over at Dexter to see if ant of her words affected him. He had a slight irritation in face, but nothing too upset. "I'm sorry, Dexter. I hope I didn't ruin this date for you."

"No. You didn't do anything wrong. Rouge said those things intentionally to upset you. She's not happy with her love life, so she wants to ruin yours."

"Her love life? I didn't think Rouge had that. She acts flirtatious with almost everyone."

"That's what I mean. She doesn't have that for herself. She's jealous of you."

"Yeah!" Amy started agreeing with Dexter, "You're right! She _is_ jealous of me! Well, I'll show her a thing or two."

"There's no need to do that. Ladies shouldn't dirty their hands with petty matters."

"That's true," Amy blushed a little.

"So, don't let it bother you. Look... in 20 minutes I'm expected back at my work to have a meeting. I'll pick you up again tomorrow around this same time. Is that okay?"

"Um, yes."

"Good. Then I'll see you tomorrow at three." Dexter started leading Amy back towards the Twinkle Park Entrance then they parted their ways after that. "Have a good night, Amy."

"Good night, Dexter."

Amy watched her date walk off towards the downtown side of Station Square. She couldn't deal with everything that was on her plate.

"I'm confused... now life's so strange... same place, same day... I thought Sonic would really give in this time. He doesn't care if I met someone new... he's with Rouge now. He's moved on, and there's no way to get him back. I really miss him..."

Before Amy could continue on with these thoughts, she noticed the strangest thing sitting on Emerald Coast's horizon. "What's that?"

What Amy saw looked like a bright red star that was burning on top of a land. Why would this be in the middle of the ocean?

"I need to tell Sonic about this!"

The pink hedgehog started towards the Station Square Train Station with all the speed she could muster.

* * *

><p>While Rouge decided to stick around at Twinkle Park, Sonic went for a run through the Mystic Ruins. He had to do whatever was necessary to take his mind off Amy and Dexter. The Chaotix Detectives and Rouge said that they would take care of it, so what reason was there for him to worry?<p>

"Phew... so far so good!" Sonic jumped from a high cliff above and landed on soft grasses. He would try to relax after finishing this run; the day was coming to and end and soon the night's cool breezes would kick in. He wanted to chill in that kind of weather. Though before the hedgehog could lay back and get some nice shuteye, he noticed a familiar hedgehog appear. "Hey, that's..."

"There you are. I have a question for you. Where's Rouge?"

"Don't know. She stayed at Twinkle Park after I left. She might be gone by now."

"Hmm. What happened inside that park?"

"Nothing worth broadcasting. We just drove race karts and explored a castle. I was getting bored, so I left early. Rouge is going to investigate more about Amy's date."

"Amy's _date_? Who was this?"

"Dexter. That name ring a bell?"

"That's the operative who is second-in-command to the Commander... he was given that position for rescuing an injured GUN Soldier during the fight with the Black Arms."

"Wait... you mean those Dexters are the same person? If that's the case, what do they want with Amy?"

"You never cease to surprise me, Sonic. I thought you weren't interested in that girl."

"What are you saying, Shadow? I'm not interested in her. You actually got it wrong."

"I don't think that's it. There's no way you can deny it when you've just shown concern. There's more to you than you think. You don't know who you are."

"I know who I am. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"I see... but you know, your actions say otherwise. Your carefree days are coming to an end."

* * *

><p>"Knuckles, you shouldn't underestimate my capabilities. One way or another, I will take your Emerald. If you don't surrender it to me, then I'll just have to have my robots come and take it forcefully."<p>

"Dream on, Eggman! It doesn't matter how many robots you bring here! As guardian of the Master Emerald, I won't let you have it!" The echidna stood proud and tall with his huge white fists clenched as Eggman hovered in front of him in his Egg Mobile. "Hit the road!"

Eggman laughed to himself then looked back up at his foe. "I figured you would say that. Prepare to face the future Eggman Empire!"

Wondering what his enemy meant, Knuckles looked past the villain and saw a fleet of Egg Pawns coming down the drawbridge of the Final Fortress. His breath almost got caught in his throat upon noticing this. "_Final Fortress_? Sonic, Tails, and I destroyed that thing ages ago! What's it doing back up and running?"

Eggman could already feel the Master Emerald sitting in his grasp. This echidna was still the same nave creature who he'd tricked years ago when he first tried to take the Master Emerald, except now his scheme really would follow through. "Don't you see, Knuckles? All this nonsense about your tribe leaving the safety of the Master Emerald in your hands is too much for you! Let me take this heavy burden off your shoulders by putting the Master Emerald in my possession! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

To further execute his diabolical plan, Eggman flew closer to the green gem and revealed a giant claw to come out from the bottom of his vehicle.

"Never!"

As Eggman's giant claw made its way to latch on to the Master Emerald and finally grabbed it, Knuckles sent his fist into it and shattered the whole treasure into millions of pieces. Every time the Master Emerald was broken like this, its shards were sent in different directions and its guardian would have to travel to each of those places to locate and put them all back together. This would be his _third_ treasure hunt...

"Nooooooooo!" As Eggman's robots infiltrated Angel Island like they'd been ordered, he sat there appalled, devastated at what Knuckles had done to the Master Emerald. "No way! I can't believe this!"

Knuckles could believe it. It was the only way he could protect this sacred jewel. Otherwise, Eggman would've made off with it and that would be more trouble. He watched as the egg-shaped villain shook his fists and became red in the face like a tomato.

"Fool! Now I will have to travel all over the world to find the pieces to the Master Emerald! Egg Pawns!" Eggman turned to his army and sent them a straightforward command. "Burn this entire island to the ground! I don't care how you do it, just burn everything in sight! These ignorant creatures won't keep testing me!"

And so, with nothing else to say, Eggman flew away from Knuckles while the Egg Robots began carrying out his plan.

Knuckles looked around at all of these scraps of metal who were slowly making their way into the heart of Angel Island. He was verily outnumbered, but left with no choice but to fight with all the strength he had. Before the echidna could move though, he remembered something. "Oh no! Angel Island won't stay afloat!"

The least of Knuckles's wants happened as he felt Angel Island start descending from the sky, past the clouds, all the way down to the untouched blue ocean. It's descent created such an enormous wave as it came and crashed down on the sands and palm trees of Emerald Coast. Those who were at this beach enjoying themselves had to hurry and run for the city before they were taken in by the oncoming waters. Now all of Emerald Coast was soaked in water and a good portion of Eggman's robots fell because of this.

"Uhh..."

Slowly, Knuckles rose from the ground and looked around at all the robots who survived the fall. He wouldn't let their numbers keep him down.

When one robot woke up, they and their fellow robots started splitting up. Not if Knuckles could help it!

"Kyaah!"

This natural-born fighter threw himself at these enemies and pulverized them with his Fire Dunk as if he were making a professional slam dunk. His fists kept moving, never slowing down or showing mercy. He'd taken it upon himself to eliminate whatever problem Eggman brought, so he would follow through with it.

"Long as I'm able to live in peace and keep the Master Emerald safe..." Knuckles drove his fist into an Egg Pawn's chest and pulled out its wires to make it malfunction and explode, then hurried to others who'd started setting his island's grasses ablaze. "... I don't need anyone."

Fire scattered across the ground rapidly. Angel Island was very bountiful and vegetated with its plants and trees, so the flames would have a lot to lick and burn with their scorching flames. Knuckles was enraged that Eggman would choose to have his last laugh like this, but what other choice was there but for the echidna to keep fighting?

As he destroyed more and more robots, more fire raced across his birthplace. Forest animals hurried from out of the forests as fast as their legs or wings would let them. Now innocent lives were at risk.

The temperature on Angel Island rose higher in Fahrenheit as more and more flames were born.

Voices in Knuckles's mind started insisting that his goal wasn't realistic, that he would be more successful if Team Sonic was reunited. It'd been forever since these three came together and fought evil.

Knuckles shook away these thoughts and kept fighting until eventually all his stamina was used up and he couldn't punch or kick with much power. He still tried putting up a fight and attacking these Egg Pawns, but they kept getting back up.

"Kyaah!"

After knocking another one down, Knuckles turned his eyes to the head of the Master Emerald Altar and gasped at what he was seeing.

These... these heaps of metal had started a fire in the Master Emerald's spot!

"Hey!"

Knuckles's power suddenly came back to him. Growing weary became a thing of the past as he flew up his stairs to obliterate these pieces of junk. They could burn the ground, they could scare away all his little forest friends, but when they messed with this ancient structure that kept the Master Emerald standing, _that_ was when they crossed the line! _Now_ they would be sorry!

"Get away from there!"

Knuckles knocked the living daylights out of each robot who dared to trespass on this sacred ground. Thanks to his renewed strength, the Master Emerald's bed was clear of them now, except it's dirt surface was being licked by those reddish-orange embers. They'd crossed the line...

Almost immediately, Knuckles thought he heard a pair of quick footsteps, but looked around and saw no one there. He became angrier upon seeing the way his altar had been tampered with and put his fists up as more robots made their way up to him, but couldn't continue this fight as he felt something hit him in the head and send him into total unconsciousness. "No... this isn't over yet."

"Huh?"

Ever so worriedly, Big the Cat stopped where he was walking down over between Emerald Coast Hotel and Twinkle Park, as he and his best friend, Froggy, noticed a strange occurrence on Emerald Coast's water horizon. It was late and dark out tonight, so this blazing red thing they saw stood out even more than the bright, white stars and the moon.

"Look, buddy! What's that thing over there that looks like a red light?" Big said to Froggy.

Dozens of Station Square citizens already crowded the roads and sidewalks, so Big's friends had to cut their way through people to get to him.

"...Tails, I don't have a good feeling about this."

Sonic showed up as soon as Tails gave him word about this red light, and of course Amy was right behind them. They found Big and approached him to view this disaster.

"Umm...guys, that's not just something bright and red. What we're seeing is flames! An island's been set on fire!" confirmed Tails.

"An _island?_" In the midst of constant panicked chatter from Station Square citizens, Sonic stared at this burning island with the deepest wish that he could figure out what it was and where it came from. "There's never been a land this close to shore before!"

Sonic turned to Big and asked the purple-striped cat when he and Froggy arrived here and saw this new dilemma. The answer he received was one hour, so then he turned back to Tails. "Tails, is there a way we can use the Tornado 2 to get to this mystery island?"

"I don't know, Sonic. I was still repairing its motor before Amy came and got us. I would hate to have you all get on it then we get into an accident... I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, Tails. We know you're trying your best. That's what counts."

Sonic heard Big begin to say something so the hedgehog gave the cat fuller attention.

"Froggy and I have a canoe that we can use to get to that island."

"Yeah? Well, hurry and show us where it is, Big. It would help us out a lot." Sonic began after this feline and realized that they would have to return to Mystic Ruins where he'd made his jungle home and his special canoe sat in the nearest river tied to a tree for safekeeping.

It was when they arrived there that Sonic, Tails, and Amy took seats in Big's canoe while he was untying its rope. The fisherman then set his large furry self inside and started rowing his canoe with his wooden oar towards that island...


End file.
